Clark Kent's super-son is taking over as the new Superman this summer, DC Comics reveals

This summer, there's a new Superman in Metropolis. DC Comics announced Wednesday that, beginning this July, the main Superman title will be replaced by an all-new ongoing series titled Superman: Son of Kal-El, starring Clark Kent's son Jonathan Kent as the new Superman of Earth. Written by Tom Taylor (Nightwing) and drawn by John Timms (Young Justice), the series will explore what happens when Jon Kent, after years of buildup, is finally entrusted with the duty of protecting Earth in an official capacity as the new Man of Steel. 

As readers of recent Superman titles might realize by now, this is something DC's creators on the Superman line have been teasing out for some time. Ever since he went to the future to join the Legion of Super-Heroes, Jon Kent has been dealing with the realization that history shows he replaces his father one day. He's agonized over it, to the point that recent stories in Philip Kennedy Johnson's Superman/Action Comics run have dealt with him trying to push his father away from certain encounters because he was afraid they would kill him, and various Future State titles explored events that unfolded well after Jon was handed the mantle. Now, we get to see Taylor and Timms take on this major passing of the torch. 

Check out the cover reveals for Superman: Son of Kal-El #1, including a main cover meant to evoke a classic Superman issue and several variants, in the gallery below.

So, we've covered Jonathan Kent, but what does all of this mean for his father? Well, Clark Kent's not about to go off into semi-retirement. In fact, he's got a little off-world mission of his own brewing. While his son is busy serving as the new Superman on Earth, Kal-El himself will be hard at work trying to solve the problem of Warworld and its refugees in the pages of Philip Kennedy Johnson and Daniel Sampere's Action Comics, and he'll even be putting a new version of an old team together to help in that effort.

DC also revealed Wednesday that legendary writer Grant Morrison (All-Star Superman) and artist Mikel Janin (Batman) will team up for Superman and the Authority, a limited series featuring a new Authority team fighting alongside Superman against the Ultra-Humanite and his own team of villains. 

All this, plus Tom King and Bilquis Evely's previously announced Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow series, means that this summer will be packed with big developments in the world of Superman. 

Superman: Son of Kal-El debuts July 13, followed by the dual launch of Superman and the Authority and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow on July 20.